Abstract
Disrespectful maternity care, encompassing abuse, violence, and humiliation, often arises from healthcare providers' actions or systemic deficiencies within healthcare systems. Alarmingly, recent data reveal that nearly 97% of women in Pakistan report experiencing mistreatment during maternity care.1 This mistreatment, not only violates women's dignity but also discourages them from seeking institutional support for subsequent deliveries, thereby adversely affecting maternal and neonatal health outcomes underscoring critical need for immediate and targeted interventions by healthcare authorities. Addressing this issue is particularly urgent in Pakistan, where maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain among the highest globally. Tackling disrespectful maternity care is essential to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which emphasize improved maternal health and the empowerment of women.The author intends to examine a case of disrespectful maternity care through Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, to promote critical reflection among healthcare providers. Such reflective practices enable providers to critically evaluate their actions and attitudes, driving improvements in care quality and reinforcing patient-centered, holistic approaches. The analysis identifies three key contributing factors to disrespectful maternity care in Pakistan, categorized within UNICEF’s AAAQ framework.4 By employing reflective methodologies, this study underscores the need for targeted interventions to address these multifaceted challenges, fostering respectful and dignified maternity care. Implementing contextually relevant SMART strategies can play a pivotal role in promoting safer and more respectful maternity care, thereby contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality. These strategies include: S ensuring sustainability through policy development3,5,7, M introducing multi-level institutional interventions5,7, A advocating for women's empowerment through community-level behavioral change6, R conducting experimental research to guide evidence-based practices6 and T training women on respectful maternity care7. Quality maternity care must extend beyond clinical safety to encompass the emotional and psychological well-being of women and their families. Prioritizing respectful and compassionate maternity care is an essential strategy for ensuring that every woman experiences dignified and empathetic treatment throughout childbirth.
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Rho Delta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Competence, Sustainable Development Goals, Maternal Child Care, Pakistan, Middle Income Countries
Recommended Citation
Khiyani, Arisha Noorddin and Ali, Sadia Abbas, "Addressing Disrespect in Maternity Care: Case Study from Low- Middle-Income Countries" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 94.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/94
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-26
Addressing Disrespect in Maternity Care: Case Study from Low- Middle-Income Countries
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Disrespectful maternity care, encompassing abuse, violence, and humiliation, often arises from healthcare providers' actions or systemic deficiencies within healthcare systems. Alarmingly, recent data reveal that nearly 97% of women in Pakistan report experiencing mistreatment during maternity care.1 This mistreatment, not only violates women's dignity but also discourages them from seeking institutional support for subsequent deliveries, thereby adversely affecting maternal and neonatal health outcomes underscoring critical need for immediate and targeted interventions by healthcare authorities. Addressing this issue is particularly urgent in Pakistan, where maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain among the highest globally. Tackling disrespectful maternity care is essential to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which emphasize improved maternal health and the empowerment of women.The author intends to examine a case of disrespectful maternity care through Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, to promote critical reflection among healthcare providers. Such reflective practices enable providers to critically evaluate their actions and attitudes, driving improvements in care quality and reinforcing patient-centered, holistic approaches. The analysis identifies three key contributing factors to disrespectful maternity care in Pakistan, categorized within UNICEF’s AAAQ framework.4 By employing reflective methodologies, this study underscores the need for targeted interventions to address these multifaceted challenges, fostering respectful and dignified maternity care. Implementing contextually relevant SMART strategies can play a pivotal role in promoting safer and more respectful maternity care, thereby contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality. These strategies include: S ensuring sustainability through policy development3,5,7, M introducing multi-level institutional interventions5,7, A advocating for women's empowerment through community-level behavioral change6, R conducting experimental research to guide evidence-based practices6 and T training women on respectful maternity care7. Quality maternity care must extend beyond clinical safety to encompass the emotional and psychological well-being of women and their families. Prioritizing respectful and compassionate maternity care is an essential strategy for ensuring that every woman experiences dignified and empathetic treatment throughout childbirth.
Description
Disrespectful maternity care is a significant issue specifically in low middle income countries such as Pakistan. The analysis of the contextual scenario highlights three key contributing factors to disrespectful maternity care in Pakistan, categorized within UNICEF’s AAAQ framework. By implementing SMART strategies, the healthcare system could effectively address the rising problem of disrespectful maternal care and improve healthcare outcomes in the vulnerable population.